Zak -- I test right up there by you on the libertarian test. I do think that one's a little biased, but it's biased the way I like it.

http://www.self-gov.org/gif/s090_090.gif

Preacherman

January 6, 2003, 04:24 PM

Dead center both ways (less than half-a-point in it). Moderate me!!! Must be why they made me a moderator... :D

coati

January 6, 2003, 04:29 PM

I wish I could hit the x ring that well.

Zander

January 6, 2003, 04:35 PM

Thanks, Zak...I'm on the border between Libertarian and Right Conservative. What a surprise...LOL!

Zak Smith

January 6, 2003, 04:41 PM

To my defense, I think it "dinged" me a couple times (ie, away from total freedom) because of context or special cases. For example, I think a country may want to retain some ability to produce food, or have some oil stashed away, or have factories that could produce weapons for strategic purposes, i.e.- to retain the ability to wage war, should it have to in self-defense.

-z

Flying V

January 6, 2003, 04:55 PM

Left/Right 0.13
Authoritarian/Libertarian -6.72

Wildalaska

January 6, 2003, 05:06 PM

Economic Left/Right: -2.25
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -1.69

Monkeyleg

January 6, 2003, 05:18 PM

Hmmm. I'm going to have to send this to all my friends who think I'm a right-wing extremist: my chart. (http://64.224.165.166/politicalcompass/questionnaire.pl?page=printable_graph&X=2.25&Y=-1.33)

ReadyontheRight

January 6, 2003, 06:21 PM

This was written in the UK in the 90s. I wonder where some of our Democrats like Gephardt, Daschle, Clintons, etc. would test?
If they answered truthfully -- based on how they vote, they would be right up there with Stalin, if they answer how they campaign, they all sound like Ghandi (have you driven a good Indian car lately?).

I'm thinking most politicians couldn't even take the test since you have to actually take a stand and answer the questions.

nualle

January 6, 2003, 06:26 PM

Last April, someone started a discussion on this quiz on TFL.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108577

In the intervening 8 months or so, I haven't changed my Econ score noticeably, but I've moved a point and a half toward Libertarian.

Then Now
Econ L/R = -4.88 -4.75
Auth/Lib = -5.69 -7.18

I think it may be time to become a card-carrying Anarchist (...if I can just find where I put that cool anarchist clip-art).

pax

January 6, 2003, 06:33 PM

Some of those questions were unanswerable, because they assumed things that I am not willing to stipulate or because the terms were poorly defined or because they required the test taker to rank in importance two things that were not in conflict, or two things neither of which should have been in the equation to begin with.

An illustration: Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment. Note that both alternatives start with the word "control." How can I answer that?

Another illustration: When a person is troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things. What are they 'troubled' by? By the death of a loved one? By a seasonal affective disorder? By schizophrenia? By general malaise? Lest you think I am being nit-picky, let me point out that each one of these has a different cause and thus would have a different solution.

Here's another one: Sex before marriage is always a sin. I do believe that sex before marriage is always a sin. So? Apparently, my believing so means that I would pass laws to forbid it. Not only would I not do so, I do not have words strong enough to express my disdain for such a monumentally stupid idea. So how am I supposed to answer that question, in order to make the poll results valid?

*shrug*

Big surprise -- I'm a libertarian. If anyone on this board didn't know that already, it's only because you haven't been paying attention ... :D

pax

But, pardon me, sublime writers, who stop at nothing, not even at contradictions. -- Frédéric Bastiat

Zander

January 6, 2003, 06:48 PM

So how am I supposed to answer that question, in order to make the poll results valid? -- PaxWe're in complete agreement.

Here's an interesting exercise:

How would we reword what we consider to be the most egregious questions?

xjer

January 6, 2003, 07:33 PM

Interesting. Some of the questions needed a none of
the above option.

Economic Left/ Right 0.00
Authoritarian/Libertarian -1.54

Mike

ReadyontheRight

January 6, 2003, 07:48 PM

Last April, someone started a discussion on this quiz on TFL.

That's where I got it. I thought it might be interesting on the new board.

Man O man,
If my chart were a target,Bullseye!
All this time I thought I was a right winger. :confused:

QuickDraw

m.i.sanders

January 6, 2003, 09:49 PM

I ended up way right on the economic part, somewhere around 5.x and .82 on the Authoritarian/Libertarian. That's pretty much where I expected.

Ian

January 6, 2003, 10:06 PM

I'm with pax regarding a bunch of the questions...they just don't have good answers sometimes. The LP's "World's Smallest Political Quiz" placed me at the extreme top corner. I don't like any laws. :)

Navy joe

January 6, 2003, 10:33 PM

L/R -1.38
A/L -5.7

About what I figured.

justinh

January 6, 2003, 10:49 PM

I know I'm a libertarian. Don't need to take a test.

Tamara

January 6, 2003, 10:51 PM

http://www.self-gov.org/gif/s100_100.gif

If the test were accurate, my dot would be about another inch straight up, off the graph. ;) :D

Tamara

January 6, 2003, 10:57 PM

Oh, and the other test was like a +6-point-something/-3.8ish.

The results are skewed by too many questions that have no impact on your "libertarian/authoritarian" leanings affecting that axis.

"Our country has unique advantages"

Well, agree, due to an anti-authoritarian Bill of Rights and a steady stream of rebellious immigrants over the years. However, I'm sure that hitting "agree" added to the "authoritarian" side of the scale, because anyone who feels pride in their nation is obviously a bloody fascist, as there's no difference in feeling pride in the U.S. Bill of Rights or feeling pride in the Taliban. :rolleyes:

grampster

January 6, 2003, 10:58 PM

L/R -2.00
A/L -0.92

Guess that makes me more of a centrist than the right wing Attilla the Hun I thought I was.

2nd test put me on the border of libertarian/right consevative.

Hmmm. Thoughtfull pause......a couple of sips of Glenfiddich.....

I decided my talk is a bit more right wing than my reality....but I guess strong verbal positions draw out thought and then seek a middle ground that sort of satisfies.

The questions, like in most exercises like this, are sometimes vague...One must, in my opinion, not think too much, but go with the first impression or the 2nd, rather quickly. If you think too much one begins to rationalize and then honesty suffers.

pax

January 6, 2003, 11:05 PM

I like the World's Smallest Political quiz because those questions are answerable -- even including a 'maybe' option for questions which get too complicated.

I used my one and only 'maybe' on the open borders question.

pax

PATH

January 6, 2003, 11:12 PM

Almost dead center. I must be a reasonable man!:scrutiny:

Blackhawk

January 6, 2003, 11:15 PM

A bit of fun nonsense.

Economic: -.050
Authoritarian/Libertarian: 1.28

sm

January 6, 2003, 11:19 PM

I agree, the mini test is the one I referenced in my above post. I too used a "maybe"on the open borders question.

Tamara-brings up a good point on the other test, felt it skewed one's true feelings.

Tamara

January 6, 2003, 11:57 PM

You statist, you! ;) :D

Navy joe

January 7, 2003, 01:22 AM

I end up a centrist on the LP quiz, probably 'cause I see the need for restricted borders politically. Economically I have to be pragmatic as to our current state of affairs in this country, without a minimum wage companies without scruples will exploit low skill workers.
Further, most Americans are too spineless to pay higher prices to keep American farms/industry in business, so I sometimes see protective tariffs/subsidies as a necessary monkeywrench. Don't like them, but a country of our size should have its own domestic agriculture and industry. Relying on others is great until you are in an international crisis, the other countries won't sell you oil, steel, or grapes and you ran all your domestic capacity out on it's ear by not helping it.

The desire for me to be truly libertarian is balanced against my belief that America is the best deal going and to keep it that way (anti-globalist) we can be libertarian all we want internally but our external politics still need to be somewhat protectionist.

Another fun endeavor, took another IQ test for fun on the 'net tonight. 3rd one I've taken, seriously or otherwise, over a 20 year span(27 yrs old) 134, 135, 136. Strangely enough these funny little test writers must know what they're doing. (No smartie, not cuz they said I wuz havin smarts) For radically different tests over a long period of time the results repeat. Everytime I take a Meyers-Briggs it's the same too. Scary!

pax

January 7, 2003, 01:37 AM

Tamara,

A friend of mine told me tonight that I'm "practically an anarchist." I'm not sure, but I think he meant it as an insult.

pax

A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them. – P. J. O'Rourke

Tamara

January 7, 2003, 06:35 AM

Y'know, I don't think I've heard the phrase "exploit the workers" outside of a Starbucks since the Berlin Wall fell. ;)

NewShooter78

January 7, 2003, 08:49 AM

Economic Left/Right: -2.63
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -4.87

Kind of where I thought I would be, but I know that I've gotten closer to the middle in the last few years. I'm sure that 4 years ago I would have probably been farther to the left.

Kamicosmos

January 7, 2003, 10:29 AM

Economic Left/Right: -2.50
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -1.85

wish I knew about this a while back...I am definately getting more left lean as I grow older.

Kamicosmos

Oleg Volk

January 7, 2003, 11:06 AM

What Tam said about the phrasing of questions affecting results. Would be interesting to see what kind of questions high-roaders would devise to gauge political leanings.

KMKeller

January 7, 2003, 11:20 AM

Booyah!

hso

January 7, 2003, 11:44 AM

Economic Left/Right: -3.25
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -5.44
Just right of Ghandi:)

A centrist on the Libertarian chart.

KMKeller

January 7, 2003, 11:58 AM

Would be interesting to see what kind of questions high-roaders would devise to gauge political leanings.

When do we begin?

Hkmp5sd

January 7, 2003, 12:12 PM

Isn't this the same test we did about a year ago on TFL?

Anyone get a different score?

pax

January 7, 2003, 02:07 PM

How would we reword what we consider to be the most egregious questions?
Zander,

After you asked that, Shootin' Buddy and my husband and I sat down and tried to do just that. We gave it up pretty quickly though, because it's just not possible to reword that test -- at least, not without a whole lot more knowledge of what the test writers were after.

A few observations we made, reading through the whole thing:

1) The questions which tested racist, bigoted, homophobic, patriotic, and Christian attitudes were apparently designed to move you on the left/right axis.

2) The questions regarding children were apparently to move you up and down on the authoritarian/libertarian axis. (This betrays an odd attitude; apparently responsible adults should be treated by the state in the same way children are treated by their parents? -- "Nanny state" bias by the writers thus revealed.)

3) Many questions tested personal beliefs ("Premarital sex is sin" "Astrology is true" etc) without any reference to whether that belief affected the test taker's views about public policy. These questions should either be reworded so that the answer actually reflects the test taker's political position, or left off the test.

We noticed a lot of other things, too, but what it boiled down to is that the test isn't really re-workable, since the whole paradigm of every question needs to be shifted in order to make it work. More questions would need to be tossed out than reworded if the inherent bias is to be removed. And even then, all we'd be doing is inserting our own paradigms!

Writing a new one might be fun, though.

pax

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. -- Warren Buffet

ACP

January 7, 2003, 02:42 PM

I'm right beside Ghandi. How enlightening!
E/R: -5.75
A/L: -2.56

Navy joe

January 7, 2003, 04:03 PM

Y'know, I don't think I've heard the phrase "exploit the workers" outside of a Starbucks since the Berlin Wall fell.

Sorry, I'm not that type. I think we just have to face the facts that :
1. Some people are capable of working but their lack of skills/intellect/etc. keeps them from realizing and/or freely finding another job if they are getting screwed over at their current job.

2. Many large employers don't have the civic responsibility to pay their employees more than a starvation wage and subsequently pass the cost on to their customers without being told too.

3. Fellow Americans won't independently force the company to treat it's workers decently by voting with their dollars. Basically, they don't care as long as their cup of coffee ;) is cheap.

So, ideally there wouldn't be a need for min. wage but, in the here and now Americans are too selfish and lazy to make it work; failing to realize that ending welfare involves investing in each other. Even now companies better their bottom line by hiring as much part time as they can, thus avoiding the costs of benefits.

And to think, I see gov't mandated min wage as less of an evil than any labor union. Labor unions have served their purpose in this country long ago, if there is anything driving min. wage up it would be union wage and the idea that you can get more for less work. Don't perform, you're fired.

AmericanFreeBird

January 7, 2003, 04:48 PM

Yep as I suspected, a Libertarian Right Wing nut!

igor

January 7, 2003, 04:49 PM

Just a bit right from Gandhi... no surprise really, but trying to complete a British survey from a Scandinavian standpoint was a bother :p . Up here I'd be considered pretty stiffly right-winged and authoritarian :rolleyes: .

Oleg, the idea of a THL(/TFL) -based survey battery wouldn't be bad. But how to clean international skewing from it? Just the ideas in general terms?

T.Stahl

January 7, 2003, 05:16 PM

Uh, different results from the last time I took the test:
+3.25 econ right, -4.26 liberal

And the other test:
90% personal, 60% economic

Coincides with what I think I am, a liberal-conservative (by German standards). :)

cratz2

January 7, 2003, 09:23 PM

Interesting. I love the question, 'Those who are able to work and do not should not expect to eat.' The fact that there are people that answer 'No' to this question is dis-heartening.

Economic Left/Right: -4.13
Authoritarian/Libertarian: -3.95

So does this make me a Libritarian with Communist leanings?

I am exactly where Robin Cook was in 1996 but now I'm closer to Charles Kennedy or Somin Hughes.

Smoke

January 7, 2003, 09:33 PM

Just another stupid attempt to categorize everyone.

Want to put me in a category...how about "American"?

My ideas are my own. My political leaning are nobody's business. I prefer to keep my opinions, ideas, and thoughts private. Unles specifically asked or in the case of something I feel VERY strongly about. Then and only then will I get vocal.

Smoke,
Bosque County, Texas, USA

Maestro

January 7, 2003, 10:00 PM

Almost dead center.Just one line to the left of dead center.Is very similar to my shooting.:D